Adani Group takes a minority stake in local digital business news platform Quintillion
NEW DELHI:
Adani Group is taking a minority stake in local digital business news platform Quintillion, the companies said in a statement Tuesday, marking billionaire Gautam Adani’s first investment in the news industry.
The relationship between Adani Media Ventures and Quintillion “marks a strong start to the Adani Group’s foray into the Indian media,” the statement said, without quantifying Adani’s commitment.
The news was first reported in September last year, when the company appointed veteran Indian journalist Sanjay Pugalia to head its media company Adani Media Ventures.
Mr. Pugalia was previously president of Quint Digital Media, the parent company of Quintillion.
The proposed deal excludes other popular Indian digital media properties affiliated with the Quint, such as The News Minute and Youth Ki Awaaz, the companies said.
Bloomberg Media said in a separate statement that it is ending its joint venture with Quintillion in India, which co-operated business news website BloombergQuint.
It was not immediately clear whether Adani picked up Bloomberg’s stock.
Gautam Adani is one of the wealthiest in Asia, alongside Mukesh Ambani, chairman of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries, which also takes an interest in India’s vibrant media industry.
With Tuesday’s move, Adani will face Reliance, which owns India’s Network18, which operates several corporate TV news channels and online platforms.
Adani Group has a market capitalization of more than $150 billion comprising seven publicly traded companies engaged in airport and port operations, power generation and transmission, coal and gas trading.
